Can you teach me?
by Niffer
Summary: She's cold and broken, he's a prince sent to earth from a world away. What will happen when they meet. Can he teacher to let go, can she teach him to feel okay with who he is inside? What will happen? r/r!
1. Chapter 1

A/N I have no idea why I'm doing this, but here goes. I'm removing my unfinished stories. I am no longer inspired to write them anymore. I've decided to start a new one. I'm not sure how often I will get to update this, but I will try my best to update sort of frequently. I have a crazy busy schedule with my thesis and all, so it keeps me pretty busy. This is a nice outlet though, so we shall see. I really hope you enjoy my story, and please feel free to let me know what you think. Reviews deffinitly modivate me to write more quickly. I first off want to apologize for any formatting strangeness. I am a blind writer, and use a screen reading program to use my computer. It doesn't really tell me how the formatting looks, so if stuff looks wonkey, I'm truly sorry. I also always run spell and grammar checks, but again, the screen reader doesn't always pick everything up so if you find anything, lemme know. thanks, R/R and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own escaflowne, although I wish I did.

*beep…beep…. beep…* She could hear the alarm ringing, but really wanted to ignore it. These days, sleep was a wonderful thing. It was the only time she felt okay. The only time life seemed worth it. Maybe it was because it was the only time she didn't feel trapped in the world she was currently living in. Maybe it was because it was the only time, aside from musical theatre events that she enjoyed who she had become. Sleep was a lot like musical theatre, she could drift away, be something new, not worry about what was really happening around her.

She rolled out of bed and flicked the switch on her alarm to quiet the intense beeping. She sat up, placed her feet on the floor, and gave a big sigh. today would be the same as every other day, get up, eat, go to work with a bunch of stuffy people she didn't like very much, come home late because work takes up all of her time, eat something, probably a frozen dinner, and sleep again. Every day was like this since she found out his secret. Every day was like this since he destroyed her life. Before he wrecked everything, she was happy. She felt like she had had a purpose.

She had met him at a young age. They were best friends, and completely inseparable. Her mother believed that he would be the one to marry her, and so did his parents. They acted together in school plays, ran lines every night. She had shared all of her dreams with him. The dream to become an actress on the stage. He was one of the few who had believed in her whole heartedly. He would listen to her stories about what it would be like for them. They would be on many a world stages together. Him always playing her love interest, or some other such role that she wanted him to fit in according to the way she felt that day. He always giggled with her about this, agreeing all of the time. He loved to see her happy. Even when they were young children, it was the one thing that made him happy because his home life was terrible.

He came from a broken home. His father had left his mother at a young age. He had had an affaire on her with some pretty young thing at his work. His mother was left alone to raise him and his older sister. Their lives would change. With the loss of his father came the loss of their rich and famous lifestyle. The loss of the nice house in the city suburbs. Now they lived in a small apartment in a building in the inner city. He didn't totally regret this, because that was when he had met her. Even though they were so young, he knew she was perfect. She was the first person to talk to him when he started at the new school. She sat with him on the school bus when he looked so sad and alone. They must have only been 9 or 10. For some reason he couldn't remember the age for sure. She had sat down, grabbed his hand and asked "Why are you so sad?"

He had looked in to her pretty green eyes, and knew that she was a real friend. He wasn't sure how, but he knew he could trust her. He told her about his mother and father, how his mother was having it hard, how she was always so sad and angry now. How she shut both him and his sister out of their world, and turned to drugs. He told her of the fights that lead up to the affaire, about his life before this tiny apartment in the inner city. She listened, and within weeks, they were like brother and sister.

Her family had accepted him to the fullest. They gave him a place to stay when times were tough, taught him about what it felt like to be loved again. Showed him that riches and lavish lifestyles weren't everything. He had loved her mother more than he had loved his own mother. Everything was perfect back then. Now as she sat there sighing, things would never be perfect, and her life of routine would stay the same. Not because of the world itself, but because she believed she could never change it. She had given up on everything, love, her dreams, her life.

She dressed for the day. She always dressed the same, mostly in black, but with enough other colors to offset it to not alarm anyone at work. That and it probably would look strange if all of a sudden she started showing up completely dressed in black everyday. She was a social worker at a local office until recently when she was promoted up the ranks to a case management position. She now worked with all of the other case load managers who were nothing like her. They were all stuffy, and felt that they were better than everyone else that existed in the world. She couldn't help but wonder how it was they managed to ever help anyone of lower status, but she knew they had to to get to the position they were in.

She ascended the stairs to the lower floor of her small home. It use to be their home, and as her eyes shifted to their wedding picture, she stopped. She had forgotten to remove it. How could she forget that? How had she not noticed it until now? He had been gone for a month now, and somehow she seemed to miss that photo hanging there in the hallway. Her heart dropped in to the pit of her stomache, and before she knew what she was doing, she leaped down the last 2 steps, grabbed the picture off the wall, and threw it across the room, shattering the frame in to tiny shards. That was what he had done to her. Shattered her heart in to small shards. He had destroyed everything they had ever had, and left her alone in the world with nothing or no one to comfort her.

She managed to make it to the couch before exploding in to a ball of sobs. Still to this day she couldn't figure out where she went wrong. Everything in the relationship had been a ferry tale for so long. They were good friends for many years before they started dating in high school. When they were in high school, they were the most talked about couple. Everyone knew they would be married, and live their lives together. They both went to theatre school after high school, and decided to marry. She went to a local university and took social work part time so she could have something to fall back on. They were beginning to live out their dreams. They were both getting signed to local shows, and seemed so happy. Then it happened. He came home, and broke her heart. As she sat their crying, the scene played over and over in her mind.

He had walked through the door, and it was very late. She was almost asleep in their bed on the second floor. something about his gait seemed strange to her, but she couldn't figure it out. She was always atoned to the strangest things. He came up the stairs, flicked on the lights, and plopped on the bed. Something definitely was going on, because he never did this. She abruptly sat up.

"Allen? Are you ok?"

"He shrugged, and looked her straight in the eyes. She knew this wasn't good.

"What's going on?"

Tomi, there's something you have to know."

Her heart dropped. She knew something was very wrong now.

"What is it, you know you can tell me anything."

He took a breath, and for an instant it caught in his throat before releasing it. The color drained from his face, and she could see him tensing and relaxing quickly.

"There's someone else."

the words rang through her ears, and cut her insides like a knife. She shouldn't be surprised, they had busy hours, her at the office a lot, him acting constantly, and her acting when she could. They hardly spent any time together, but they had been so perfect. The tears begin to fall like rain. Before she could say anything he approached and tried to hold her. She pushed away, raised her hand and slapped him in the face.

"Don't touch me,"

The words came out like stone. He flinched when she said them.

"Tomi, I'm really sorry, I never wanted it to be like this. It just happened, it started so innocent…

She cut him off.

"I said get out. Get out of my house, just leave!"

"Bu but, I want to explain!"

She turned her back to him. She didn't want to let him see her cry. She didn't want him to see her falling apart at the seems. He had been her entire life, and now, he found someone new?

"You've explained enough! Just go! I don't need anymore explanations. Grab your shit, and go!"

He knew better than to disobey her, so he quickly grabbed a few outfits of clothing out of the closet, his stuff from their room, and left her alone. She heard the door close quietly downstairs a few minutes later, and she broke in to the longest and loudest cries of her life. She was crying now like she had then, and it haunted her. How could she not be over this?

She had to pick herself up, put on a happy face and go to work. She managed to do just that after a few minutes of crying. She reapplied her make-up, grabbed a granola bar for breakfast, got in to the car, and drove to work as if nothing had happened that morning. She had no idea of what would be waiting for her when she arrived at work that day…

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

A/N thanks to all who read and reviewed my story. I really appreciate people reading my work. Sorry for the delay on this but the thesis has been taking up much time, and now I am on break, so maybe an other chapter before the week is out. I have some ideas of what will happen, so we shall see. Anyway read and please review, the reviews motivate me! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Van sat straight up in his bed, a cold sweat trickling down his back and over his forehead. He couldn't understand why all of these flashbacks kept coming, and why he couldn't get rid of them. Now was not the time for these things to be bothering him. People in the castle were catching on that he had been feeling less than normal since the accident and now was not the time for that to surface. He had to stop feeling this way, stop remembering that fateful night that changed everything, and move on. It was his responsibility to deal with all outcomes of that night, and to put things right. Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to convince himself of that, he failed. The flashbacks continued, and he still felt one turn away from crazy.

His best friend Merle was the first to notice his pain, and tried desperately to talk to him about it, but he refused. It reminded her of the men who spoke of great wars before the two were even born. He had that same cold expression as they did. It made no sense to Merle, since none of what happened was his fault. Things had just been going wrong before what happened happened, it was a complete fluke, but it did not make him feel any better about the matter. Merle had decided that he was to have a meeting with the advisers about a vacation. She felt that he desperately needed one to bring him back to reality. Echo's of a new war were bruing, and now that he was to take the place of his older brother in the duty of king, she knew he needed to be prepared should a war start. Van was not looking forward to that meeting, and wished that he had managed to act more normal, or had at least confided in Merle. There was no point in that now, he had set fait in motion, and now had to deal with its outcomes. He attempted to close his eyes once again, and tried to make sleep come. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, a day he wished he didn't have to face.

The sun rose early in fanelia, and Van opened his eyes to catch the sunrise from the windows of his castle bedchamber. He yawned and stretched, feeling the affects of a distorted sleep. His brain then clicked that the events of today were not going to be very pleasant, and he groaned inwardly. It was too bad he couldn't just stare at the sun all day, that would be a lot easier than what he was about to face.

A low wrapping at his door indicated to him that the servants were here to prepare him for the morning meal. He allowed them in. The maid laid out his attire for that day, and slipped out afterward not saying a word. Van had been very short and angry toward his servants as of late, and many of them had taken his unfriendly tone to mean that he did not want to be bothered or talked to. Before the accident, Van was a great deal friendlier toward his castle staff, and now he had completely shut them out. All they were good for was doing their jobs. Van had to be honest; he had shut most people out of his life, refusing to speak to anyone unless spoken to. Merle had to pry him for any type of conversation these days, and that was strange as before conversation use to be so easy, so normal between them. That was her reasoning, and he knew it. She was sending him away in hopes of changing him.

He dressed for the morning meal, and made his way to the dining hall. There was to be no ceremony today, he did not want such "nonsense" as he called it. He felt very undeserving of any type of ceremony. This job was not suppose to be his, it was suppose to be his brother's, and now he was forced in to it.

He made his way to the head table, and took a seat. Servants brought him many dishes to choose from, and he picked lightly from them. He hadn't felt like eating much these days, but ate enough to show that he was fine enough. Merle joined him at the table, along with a number of advisers. Something was different about the advisers, they were smiling. Even Merle had a different look in her eye. Van knew something big was being planned.

"Good morning King Van"

Van Scowled at her, he hated that. He didn't want to be the king.

"Hey Merle"

"What's the scowl for!"

"Sorry, I just… hate that term, and you know it!"

One of the advisers sitting at the table chimed in. Well sir, it is your new title, and we really think it is time that you get use to it. It is how you will be addressed from now until the end of your rein.

Van new he was right, but didn't want to listen. He ignored the adviser, and concentrated on the food on his plate, refusing to look at Merle. He knew he had hurt her feelings by scowling, and being so harsh, and now felt a tinge of guilt. He knew she was only trying to help, but that didn't lessen his pain. IT didn't change the outcome of that night, and his poor attitude now.

Merle attempted to keep the mood light. She gave Van a big smile.

"So, we know where you're going for vacation."

Van's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"What? I thought we were going to talk about this first?"

Merle's smile grew larger.

"We didn't think you needed that extra burden, so we took it off your shoulders. We have it all figured out! This will even eliminate the meeting that we're supposed to have, which will free up your last day here for a while to do what ever you want to!"

All Van wanted to do was sit in his room, and be alone. He didn't care about anything else or doing anything else. Something jolted him though, his last day here…

"Where are you sending me?"

The advisers all looked at Merle, a hint of apprehension in their eyes.

"The mystic moon!"

Van did a double take of Merle's face to see if she was joking. Her serious look told him otherwise.

"Merle, are you crazy? That place is cursed!"

"Oh nonsense, it's not! That's just a tale that no one really believes. Did you really believe that? Silly Van!"

Van was completely dumbfounded. How did he let this get so out of hand…

His lead adviser stepped in.

"King Van, it is a good opportunity to learn something new, place yourself in to a new environment. Many from the mystic moon had visited us. Tell me you had heard those stories. The stories of men and ladies who were accidently transported here to our fine land, and left us with knew knowledge. We are simply going to follow those stories, and transport you to the mystic moon. It is a place for you to learn, and maybe quell some of the pain you've been feeling."

Van wasn't sure what to do or say.

"You will be prepared to leave by tonight. At the stroke of midnight, we will transport you to the mystic moon via the pillar of light. Meet us in the4 woods outside of the castle."

Van felt that this was silliness. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally catching up with him, and he was still in his room, simply sleeping. He knew that wasn't the case, and yet he had nothing to say, no arguments toward Merle and the advisers. Sure he didn't want to go to the Mystic moon, but what else was left. The plan had been set in motion, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Hitomi wasn't sure how she had done it, but she managed to drive the car all the way to work without killing a single soul. The only strange thing to her was that she had not been paying attention the entire time. She mused at how strange the human brain could be. She cut the engine of the car, and checked her hair and make-up in the mirror. Roomers had been flying about the divorce at her workplace, and the last thing she needed was to start a whole new round of gossip when she walked in looking terrible. Everything looked fine, so she placed the small mirror back in to her handbag, and made her way to her office. She concentrated on the click clacking of her shoes as she walked through the office building halls, not wanting to look at anyone. She felt if she looked at just one person, she'd lose what composure she managed to be pulling off right now. Sure, it all sounded great in the house, picks yourself up, dust yourself off, but now that she was out of the small house, that was a lot more difficult. She finally made it to her office and slipped the keys in to the door…

It had been one of the longest days of his life. For once, Van had nothing to do, and no where to go. He spent some time with Merle, relaxed in the gardens, and spent time reading. He couldn't even assist in the packing process because his servants, along with Merle, had already done it. That left him even more time to sit and wonder what the Mystic moon would be like. Finally it was close to midnight, so he made his way to the woods. He gave the signal to the advisers to let them know he was there. He then prepared to be enveloped by the pillar. The only instruction that the advisers had given him was to concentrate on thinking of the mystic moon. He did that, and before he could say anything, he was being lifted off the ground by a pillar of light. He felt very warm, and then all of a sudden landed with a thud on something hard and wooden. Before he knew what was happening, he heard a strange clicking noise.

Hitomi thought she had heard something as she was slipping the keys in to the door, but was completely caught off guard when she opened the door. There standing in front of her desk was a man dressed in very strange clothing, looking as surprised as she was. She averted her eyes to the sealing to try not to be rude, and then she saw it, a huge gaping hole in her roof.

"Ummm, how did you get in here?"

Van was at a loss for words. The green eyed girl in front of him was beautiful, and for once in his life, he was completely speechless.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N thanks to all who reviewed, your reviews keep me motivated. Thanks to those individuals who also gave me some constructive comments on improving this story. Those are also appreciated a great deal. This chapter is filled with dialogue, and is very jumpy, but it is one that's still setting up the story. I promise it will get better soon! Also just a bit of a warning… I often give discriptions of chars in my stories who look nothing like they actually look. This is because I can't see, and no one has really described to me what they look like, so I've given them their own images. I think it's a nice twist! Please don't flame me for this… and hope you enjoy! Thanks again and please enjoy and read and review! Any suggestions are welcome!

Van had no idea what to do or say. The girl in front of him was beautiful, and now she wanted some answers. It was really too bad that the advisors hadn't given him a crash course on Mystic Moon edikit, and now with this beautiful girl, he was bound to mess something up. He really wished that he could just summon the pillar of light and go back home. He thought this vacation was supposed to be easy, not difficult. Hitomi continued to stare up at him, anxious for answers.

"How did you get in here? What happened here that there is a hole in my roof!"

Van struggled to gain the words to explain, but figured a lie might be easier for the time being. He didn't want to alarm her. He noted that she had already looked very weary.

"Well, ummm, you see, I was working on the roof up there. Fixing some…. vents and the bricks fell through."

That would have worked, other than there were no bricks. Van didn't think of this when he made up his story, and now that he noticed the problem, he knew he was doomed.

"You're lying; there are no bricks even in here! How the hell did you manage to break in here, without destroying anything."

Van had no idea what to do now, other than to tell her the truth. Before he opened his mouth, he saw her look to his belt, and spot the sword he forgot he was carrying. Why didn't he remember to get rid of that thing… This was not his lucky day. Hitomi's mouth dropped open, and she tried to scream, but for some reason couldn't get the sound out. Van felt thankful for that. He tried desperately to rectify the situation.

"Look Miss, this isn't how it looks. It's a very complicated story, if you just let me let myself out, then we can forget we'd ever met."

Those words jolted Hitomi. She would never forget this young man. This was the first time she had been attracted to a man since Allen, and she had no idea how to deal with that or what to do. Maybe that was why she wanted to get him in to so much trouble. Maybe she was afraid of the consequences of this man. At the same time, she didn't want him to leave. She felt completely emotionally pulled.

"No no, I don't want to do that. I just well, I don't understand how this happened. Not to mention, I can't let you go out through that door looking like this. People will wonder who you are, and there's a good chance you will get arrested. I don't think you want that. Also those clothes, they're… well strange to say the least, and people would wonder. Why don't you just stay in here, until the end of the workday, and I will smuggle you out after that."

Van looked at her strangely. She wanted him to hide out in this room all day? What was he going to do? In the same right, he didn't want to leave the green eyed girl. Something was pulling him toward her, and to be honest with himself, he had no one else who could talk to him. Maybe this girl would teach him a thing or 2 about how to live mystic moon, and how one survives here without causing alarm in the general population. He decided to agree to her offer, and before anything else could be discussed footsteps were coming toward Hitomi's door. She flinched, and gestured for Van to hide under the desk. He wasn't sure how he was going to fit in that small space, or what to do with the sword on his belt. Hitomi ripped the sword from him in a blink of an eye, and hid it inside the desk. He was completely dumbfounded at this girl and her movements. No one on fanealia would even consider taking his sword away. He managed to stuff himself in to the small space under the desk, but not with out some violent cursing, before the door opened.

A large man stepped in to Hitomi's office, and instantly stared her up and down. Van was peaking out from underneath the desk, and did not appreciate the way the man was looking at Hitomi like she was some piece of meat. He had the urge to dig in to her desk, and do some major damage to this man with his sword. The attack would be so quick, so unexpected… As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he blocked it out. He didn't want to get arrested. Not that he knew what arrested was, but this girl seemed really concerned about it. The large man gestured to the hole in Hitomi's roof.

"Hitomi, what the hell happened to the roof!?"

She gave the man a smile.

"I honestly have no idea. I was just getting ready to call you guys up when I saw it. I don't know what even did that, or how brick could just split perfectly like that."

The large man looked puzzled for a minute. Then a smile crept across his face.

"Well Miss Kansoki, I think that someone's trying to tell you something. Did you ever have any clients before who did not like you? Did anyone ever threaten you?"

Hitomi tried to think back to when she had clients. That seemed like such a long time ago now, but she couldn't remember anyone being annoyed or angry with her. Most of her clients felt that Hitomi was very compassionate, and respected the young woman. Infact, that made most of the other social workers upset, because most of them had trouble with a few clients at best.

"No Dilandau, no one's ever been angry that I know of."

He pursed his lips.

"Well, just to be safe, I think you should have one of us stay with you at all times while you are at work. Just incase someone is trying to get at you. You never really know what these people are capable of these days. They may not seem angry to you, but they still might be out to get you. I'm going to check with my boss, to see if I can stay with you. Also, I will go and get the matinance guys to come up and fix that hole in your roof, before anymore damage happens."

Before Hitomi could object, Dilandau was turning around, and walking briskly out the door. This really was turning out to be a bad day. She turned to go and sit at her desk when she heard an angry sigh that jolted her. She had momentarily forgotten about her guest hiding underneath the desk.

Van managed to unstuff himself enough to talk to her for a minute. He figured the disgustingly creepy man was going to come back any minute, and he would have to hide himself once again.

"Who the hell was that weird guy?"

Hitomi smiled at Van's anger toward Dilandau.

"Oh, he's one of the security guards here at work. He thinks he can protect, and sleep with, every woman in this office. Ever since my, well ever since a while, he's been hitting on me. Discussing man."

Van noted her slip of the Tung, but decided to let it go for now. He didn't want to pry too much.

"If you don't want him guarding you, then why don't you tell him?"

Hitomi thought for a moment.

"It won't work. He's one of the boss's favorite people, and he always gets what he wants. If I object to him guarding me, even for a little while, he'll automatically assume something's up, and start a bunch of unnecessary gossip or worse, just try harder. I'd really rather that not happen."

Van felt really annoyed with this guy, and didn't even know him. The urge to damage him with the sword resurfaced in his mind.

"I think you should do something about him. He doesn't seem very friendly, and he's got something up his sleeve."

*****Dilandau's POV

Dilandau walked down the corridor toward his boss's office. He finally had Hitomi right where he wanted her. He wasn't sure how the massive hole got in her roof, but he was incredibly thankful it was there. Now he had a reason to spend more time with her, to hopefully get in her pants. Now that she was rid of that Allen guy, he could finally concur the conquest he really wanted. He had been eying her for years, and all he had to do was wow her. He reached this bosses office, and strolled in.

"Good morning rob."

"Morning Dilandau, how are you this morning."

Dilandau didn't want to make small talk, and rushed straight to the point.

"I'm fine, but Miss Kansaki, the case worker upstairs, is not."

Rob looked up from the reports he was filling out.

"You mean that pretty green eyed broad upstairs?"

"Yeah her, someone broke in to her office through the roof. We're not sure how it happened, and she doesn't believe that there was a break-in. she thinks it might have been from matinance, but no one was up there lately yes?"

Rob took a minute to think about it, and flipped absently through some pages.

"Nope, no one's been on that side anyway. Who you think broke in?"

"I think it might have been a client or something. You know how those people can be sometimes. Always angry at the people trying to help m out."

Rob shuffled more papers.

"I suppose, do you want me to get matinance to go up and take a look at the roof?"

"That's one thing I want, yeah, but I was thinking, maybe someone should accompany Hitomi around the workplace for a few days. Just to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again, and to protect her incase it does. You just never know."

Dilandau winked at his boss for one quick second.

Rob knew exactly what Dilandau was getting at. Most of the men in the office had taken at least one good look at Hitomi in the last while, including himself, and rob had to admit that what Dilandau was doing was a good plan. He knew as well as dilandau did that no one or nothing was going to happen to her, but wanted to help his friend out.

"I think that's a great idea. Dilandau, let me know how this works out ok?"

Dilandau gave Rob a huge smirk.

"Will do sir, I'm sure things will work out splendidly."

With that last statement, he let himself out, and walked back toward Hitomi's office.

*********V/H POV*****

Hitomi sat at her desk, Van looking up at her. He noticed the stressed look on her face.

"This has been a very very terrible day…"

Van had no idea what to do or say. He didn't do well with emotional females. The last time Merle was at all emotional toward him, he didn't say anything, and she clawed him. He didn't want the same thing to happen again. He tried to think of something to say. Before he could, she spoke first.

"I'm sorry, just ignore me. It's just been an incredibly strange morning is all. I'm just feeling blah today. You know, over emotional female stuff. Anyway, Dilandau's coming back, I hear his footsteps, and you should probably stuff yourself back under that desk. Sorry about this."

Van obeyed. He felt like some kind of pet, but knew this was his only way to learn anything about the Mystic moon, and to spend time with the girl."

********Gaea*****

The King of Fanelia has finally departed. Things are working out so well in our favor now. Such a Terrible Accident that was, when his mother and brother were lost. Too bad it wasn't really an accident."

"Yes, this is very true, it really is too bad. Now we may finally be able to gain rights to fanealia, and austuria. Austuria is so rich, and Fanelia has so much livestock and agriculture. We will be able to have the best and largest empire around."

"Exactly, start getting the army trained, it is believed that the King will be gone for sometime, and we need to have the army mobilized and ready before his return. That way the attack is unexpected and there is nothing he can do about it."

"Will do sir, it's really too bad that neither country sees this coming. To think they thought Zyboch was obliterated. We rise again! mawahahahahahahaha!

To be continued…

Like? No like? R/R and let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Lookey lookey! I've come back from the dead! An other school year has ended, and yet the thesis has not… but alas, a chapter for you all. Much thanks to all who reviewed, you really keep me going!

The day had been ridiculously long for Van, and he was happy to hear the end of the day chatter between Hitomi and Dilandau. This meant that he could finally unstuff himself from under that stupid desk. He was almost positive he had broken at least half of his body from lack of movement, and being so crowded in such a small place. Every now and again Hitomi would kick the desk to let him know she was thinking of his unhappy predicament. He appreciated her gesture.

He had listened to Hitomi and Dilandau talk some, and although Dilandau had seemed to mellow out some, and seemed a lot less arrogant than earlier, he did not trust the man. He had listened to her have many meetings, and noted how unhappy she had sounded. He pretended not to care because once this day was over; he was thinking that he'd just go off on his own. Earlier in the day he had thought that maybe he'd find some way of spending time with the girl to learn about mystique moon life, but thought twice about it. He didn't want to burden her, and plus, he wasn't feeling as miserable as he did before when he was on Gaea. He was always supposed to be miserable. He snapped from his thoughts when he finally heard the security guard leaving the room. He attempted to pull himself out of the small space in the desk.

Hitomi watched him, and let out a small giggle as he fumbled trying to get out. He glared up at her.

"awww, sorry about that! You just looked so silly trying to get out of there."

Van didn't say anything; he just got up and straightened up his clothes.

"Can I have my sword back?"

Hitomi had forgotten about the sword, and was immediately jolted when she thought about it. She was alone in the office now, and with this gentleman who might hurt her?

"Ummm, what's that thing for anyway?"

Van wasn't sure of what to say.

"It's really complicated; I don't want to get in to it. The less you know the better."

Hitomi was kind of amused, and also very afraid. This man was so mysterious. She knew she couldn't keep his sword from him, so offered a deal.

"I will help you out of here, as long as you promise not to like chop my head off with that sword."

Van laughed. Hitomi noticed that this was the first time she had even seen him smile.

"I have no desire to hurt you with the sword. If you just get me out of here, I promise I won't be a bother to you again. I'll just be on my way."

Hitomi was not sure what to say. This man landed through a hole in her roof, and now he wanted her to just leave him alone?

"Where are you going? Is there anywhere I can take you?"

"Ah, no, I just, I have someone to meet."

Van wasn't sure how to proceed. Hitomi knew something wasn't right at all.

"Look, let me get you out of here, and then we'll sit in my car and talk about this. I feel like there's a lot you're not telling me, and I want to help you, even if you do have a scary looking piece of metal."

Van knew he was caught now, and wasn't fast enough to think on his feet. Before he knew what was happening, she was ushering him out the door. She instructed him to act natural, and not to talk to anyone. She also took his sword again, and hid it in the large bag she was carrying. He eyed the bag nervously.

"Stop that!" she hissed. "I'm not going to do anything with your preciouss, well you know!"

They walked in silence through the long hallways in the building, and reached an elevator. Van eyed the strange contraption nervously.

"What, haven't you ever been on an elevator before?"

"Sure! Sure I have."

The door opened, and Hitomi stepped in. Van followed cautiously behind. The door closed, and the elevator started to move. Van jumped, and immediately reached for the bag at Hitomi's side.

"What's going on with you, you're so jumpy! You… um, what's your name?"

"My name is Van Fannel."

"Well Van Fannel, you have sooo much explaining to do when we reach my car. I want to know your entire story."

Van wasn't sure what a car was, but he was soon to find out. The elevator stopped, and let them off. He was in a different place than he was when he had gotten on. It must have been some kind of traveling device. They walked through some more hallways before reaching the doors to the outside of the building. The two walked outside, and began the stroll through the parking lot. The sun was shining bright, and the walk was a slow one. Hitomi had forgotten where she had parked when she had came in to work, and was now doing a major parking lot scan to try to find her tiny car. She finally found it, and Van followed along. He tried to remain as calm and natural as he could, but seeing the strange machines moving about with people operating them made him nervous. For a brief moment, he remembered escaflowne, and practicing piloting it. Folcan had taught him that… Before he could go any further with his thoughts, Hitomi shrieked.

"I finally found it!"

Van followed her to the car, and she unlocked his door for him. She noted his expression of carefulness, and eyed him.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It was just a long day of being stuffed under your stupid desk, and now you just want me to get in this… car?"

"Well, yeah. What was wrong with my desk anyway? Would you have rather gotten arrested? All I was doing was trying to help you!"

Van remembered the last time he angered an emotional female, and thought it best to stop quarreling right then. He opened the unlocked door and slipped in. Hitomi walked to the other door, and also made her way in. When she got in and closed the door, she rested in her seat. She was going to get answers, and she was going to get them right now.

Van had noticed that she was in no hurry to begin operating the strange machine. He eyed her nervously.

"Aren't you going to make this thing move?"

She noticed the strange way he talked. It was if he didn't know anything about earth. Maybe he had bumped his head or something?

"I want you to talk first."

Van looked at her.

"About what?"

"The fact that you're acting so strange! You just randomly fall through my roof, perfectly I might add, and now you don't give me any answers? I think after hiding you all day, I deserve answers. Not to mention, your clothes are so weird! It's like you're from a world away!"

"Look, it's none of your business! Why are you so damn nosey anyway! Don't you know how to mind your own business? Didn't anyone ever tell you that being curious just gets you in trouble?"

Hitomi was hurt and angered. She was having a terrible day, and this was the last straw. She opened her bag and shoved Van's sword at him. She started to push him toward the door of the car.

"Get out of my car! All I tried to do was help you, and this is how I get treated? I should never help or trust men, they're all the same!"

Before Van could say anything, she reached around and slapped him in the face. He was too angry to say anything, so made his way out of her car. He left the car, slamming the door behind him. Hitomi noticing him leave put her head down on the steering wheel and cried for the second time that day. What she didn't notice while she was sobbing was Van watching her from beside the building. There was no way an emotional female, even as emotional as this one seemed, could go over the edge over that one little comment. Van noticed Hitomi start the car, and begin to drive away. Before he knew what he was doing, he had jumped in to a second car, and was following after her. He had no idea how to operate a car, but he was going to try. The girl looked reckless as she drove, and it was making him nervous. It was something about the darkness that was in her eyes as she cried.

Hitomi drove as fast as she could with out getting caught for speeding. It had been the worst day in a while, and all she wanted to do was go home. Before she knew what was going on, she noticed the strange man was driving beside her. He was driving someone elses car! She pulled over to the side of the road, and he followed suit.

She got out of the car, and walked toward the car he was driving.

"What are you doing?"

"Following you, you looked… upset."

"Well yeah, you insulted me back there!"

"And you didn't insult me? You were just as harsh."

"Well you were ungrateful!"

"Look, I don't want to do this right now. You look… upset, and like you shouldn't be driving."

"And what, are you going to drive? You don't look like the most confident driver either."

Van thought for a minute. He knew she was right.

"Okay, fine! Drive us to your house."

Hitomi was dumbfounded.

"Are you trying to come home with me?"

Van was speechless. How come everything he wanted to say always came out so wrong?

"No, I just thought I'd ummm drive with you, until you got there. Then I'd be on my way."

Hitomi pondered for a second. This was how she'd get him to talk.

"Fine! Not that I need your help, but the company might be nice. I'll make you a deal."

"What's that?"

"I drive, you talk, and I want to know everything!"

Van considered for a minute before agreeing. He had to tell someone, it might as well be this girl. Hopefully she won't think he's crazy. She was already messed up enough.

"Fine, but if you get weirded out, it's your own fault for asking."

"Oh, I use to be a social worker, nothing will weird me out. I've heard them all before."

Van had no idea exactly what a social worker was, but he was betting she had never heard the story he was about to tell her.

TBC…


End file.
